What Are the Most Common Types of Nursing Home Abuse?

 Posted on January 05, 2021 in Nursing Home Negligence

Nursing homes are meant to provide quality care for elderly or disabled individuals who need assistance with their daily needs. Unfortunately, some nursing homes do not live up to these obligations. Because nursing home residents are so vulnerable, they can suffer serious harm if a facility or its staff members are negligent in providing the care they need. Sadly, many residents are the victims of nursing home abuse. Family members should be sure to understand the possible types of abuse that can affect their loved one, and in cases where abuse has occurred, they will want to work with a personal injury attorney to understand their legal options.

Forms of Nursing Home Abuse

Abuse may be committed against nursing home residents by a facility’s staff members or by other residents. Some ways that a nursing home patient may be abused include:

• Physical abuse - This may include hitting, slapping, shoving, or other actions that inflict physical pain and discomfort. Because nursing home patients are often in frail physical condition and susceptible to harm, these actions can lead to serious injuries and permanent impairment.
• Verbal or emotional abuse - Staff members may shout at, insult, berate, harass, or intimidate patients, or they may purposely isolate them from others or ignore their requests for aid or assistance. This can cause a great deal of emotional harm to residents, leading to depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal.
• Sexual abuse - Sadly, the vulnerability of nursing home patients may lead staff members or other residents to take advantage of them sexually, especially when patients suffer from dementia or experience other issues that make it difficult for them to tell others about what has happened to them. Sexual abuse may include forced sexual contact, taking sexually explicit pictures of a person, forcing a person to disrobe, or committing sexual harassment involving inappropriate speech or behavior.
• Improper restraint - Staff members may use physical restraints to confine a resident to a bed or chair, and these may include strapping a person’s wrists or ankles to a bed or chair, using bed rails to prevent a person from leaving their bed, or using belts or trays to force a person to remain in a chair. Chemical restraints such as sedatives or other drugs may also be used by staff members if they believe a patient is being troublesome. Restraints should only be used when they are medically necessary, and they should not be used to restrict a resident’s freedom.
• Financial exploitation - Caregivers or other people who are close to a nursing home resident may coerce or manipulate them into turning over their money or property or making changes to their will. In some cases, a person may commit identity theft by using a resident’s personal information to open credit cards, make purchases, or obtain loans.

Contact Our Rolling Meadows Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys

If your loved one has suffered harm while residing at a nursing home, Newland & Newland, LLP can help you determine whether their injuries were the result of abuse or neglect. We will help you understand your legal options for recovering compensation, and we will work to ensure that those who caused your loved one’s injuries are held responsible for their wrongdoing. Contact our Arlington Heights nursing home injury lawyers at  847-797-8000 to set up your free consultation today.

Sources:

https://www.apa.org/pi/prevent-violence/resources/elder-abuse

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK98786/

https://www.health.state.mn.us/facilities/regulation/safety.html